NSA Secrets Kill Our Trust by Bruce Schneier

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/01-4


NSA Head James Clapper (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/ AP)

In July 2012, responding to allegations that the video-chat service Skype -- owned by Microsoft -- was changing its protocols to make it possible for the government to eavesdrop on users, Corporate Vice President Mark Gillett took to the company's blog to deny it.


Or at least he -- or the company's lawyers -- carefully crafted a statement that could be defended as true while completely deceiving the reader. You see, Skype wasn't changing its protocols to make it possible for the government to eavesdrop on users, because the government was already able to eavesdrop on users.

At a Senate hearing in March, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper assured the committee that his agency didn't collect data on hundreds of millions of Americans. He was lying, too. He later defended his lie by inventing a new definition of the word "collect," an excuse that didn't even pass the laugh test.

As Edward Snowden's documents reveal more about the NSA's activities, it's becoming clear that we can't trust anything anyone official says about these programs.

[pscot]

1. K&R

[GiaGiovanni]

2. Is it just me or is the word "Eavesdrop" a complete misnomer?

"Eavesdrop" sounds like your nosy neighbor who wants to find out if you're getting a divorce. The neighbor may be annoying but he can't put you in jail. The government, on the other hand, is "spying" and can put you in jail for quite some time.

[L0oniX]

3. Clapper is a lair. Oh ...and the trust was 100% gone after the Iraq WMD lies. n/t

[chimpymustgo]

4. Makes you wonder what else they're lying about (other than EVERYTHING). nt